External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is on a two-day official visit to Oman, met her Omani counterpart Yusuf Bin Abdullah here on Wednesday.
She also met Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al Said after meeting Abdullah.
During the meeting with members of the Indian community, Swaraj praised their contribution to India's economy.
"By providing highly skilled services at a competitive cost, our community's role has become indispensable for the Omani economy. Your sustained remittances over the years have contributed to our foreign exchange reserves and are a valuable livelihood source for millions of dependents in India. May I read that India is the recipient of the largest global remittances sent by the expatriate populations anywhere in the world in the Gulf region, is the largest source of remittances for us," she said.
Swaraj also spoke about development projects being undertaken in India.
"The last budget in 2014 has set up an NRI (non-resident Indians) fund to clean and develop river Ganga. We are embarked on the Digital India programme. The government has invited both foreigners and NRI entrepreneurs to come and join these efforts. In this context, I would like to congratulate Indian community in Oman for their strong presence in the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat," she said.
